Hyundai Azera

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The Hyundai Azera is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that shares some running gear with the former mid-size Sonata. Until the 2009 Hyundai Genesis arrived in the U.S. market, the Azera was Hyundai's biggest, most expensive and most luxurious sedan. It's sold in its home market of South Korea as the Grandeur.

Preceded in luxury by an archaic XG300 and an XG350 sedan, the Azera came to the U.S. market in the 2006 model year, aimed primarily at the mid-size sedans from Buick and at the Toyota Avalon. It was introduced with a 263-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, while other world markets also got the Azera with smaller six-, four-cylinder and diesel engines. In the U.S. the sole transmission was a five-speed automatic with Shiftronic controls. Relatively well equipped, and relatively plain inside, the plush-riding Azera sported a base price tag of about $25,000 in its first model year.

While its relaxed handling and quiet styling have remained largely unchanged, the Azera has been detailed more finely since its introduction. New steering-wheel controls arrived in 2007; a new navigation system with voice controls showed up in the 2008 model year, along with a new base engine, a 234-hp, 3.3-liter V-6. In 2009, Hyundai adapted the grille on the Azera, added blue backlighting for its gauges, and updated the audio and entertainment controls to include Bluetooth connectivity and iPod controls.

Though it ranks among the class leaders for safety features, the
current Azera doesn't top most competitors with crash-test scores. In
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests, the Azera was rated
"good" for
frontal-offset protection, though it earned lower scores of "acceptable"
for side and rear tests. In federal (NHTSA) tests, the Azera received
five stars for front-seat protection in side impacts and four stars for
rear-seat protection, as well as four stars for frontal impact
protection.

For the 2011 model year the Azera gets a light refresh that includes a new grille,  headlights, LED taillights, and fog
lamps, plus "high-gloss" window trim, a new trunk lid design and new
alloy wheels. Powertrain changes are more substantial: the V-6 engines in the 2011 Hyundai Azera lineup are the same size
as last year, but they're more powerful and significantly better on
gas. The 3.3-liter now makes 260 horsepower and 233 pound-feet of torque
(almost as many horsepower as the larger engine last year) and has fuel
economy figures that have improved by two in both the EPA city and
highway cycles, to 20 mpg city, 28
highway. The larger 3.8-liter V-6 gets a bump up to 283 horsepower and
263 pound-feet, with ratings up 2 mpg in city driving and a mile per
gallon on the highway, to 19/27.

We've heard reports of a newly redesigned Hyundai Azera coming for the 2012 model year, sharing more styling themes with the new Hyundai Sonata and the forthcoming 2011 Hyundai Elantra. 

2010 Chicago Auto Show

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